Machine fob hoisting peesons



PATENTED MAY 15, 1860.

I. H. HOBBS. MACHINE FOR HOISTING PERSONS, &o., FROM ONE STORY TOANOTHER.

122216212211 @ZM% f w m wes UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC H. HOBBS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLXANIA.

MACHINE FOR HOIS'IING PERSONS, &c., FROM ONE STORY IN A BUILDING TOANOTHER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 28,273, dated May 15, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC H. Hones, of the city of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Inn proved ReciprocatingStairway for Buildings; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in which Figure 1, is a front elevation of theapparatus applied to the floors of a building; Fig. 2, a verticallongitudinal section at a right angle to the said front elevation; Fig.3, a vertical longitudinal section parallel with the said frontelevation; Fig. 4, a horizontal section of Fig. 1, just above the firstfloor; and Figs. 5, and 6, sectional plan and front views ofautomatically operating doors of the same; like letters, when on thedifferent figures, indicating the same objects.

The object of this invention is to afford a ready, convenient, andappropriate means of conveyance, for persons, from one story to anotherin buildings of any kind, and especially in lofty hotels and factories.

It consists in the application, to a building, of either a single or apair of frames or cases of sufficient length to reach from the first tothe highest floor of the said building; the said frame or frames beingprovided with platforms arranged at such dis tances apart therein as tocorrespond respectively with the levels or landings of the floors of thesaid building, and also adapted to slide up and down in a suitablyguarded opening or hatchway made through the floors of the building forthe purpose, the extent of one story only, substantially as hereinafterdescribed, when the said frame or frames are actuated by any suitablemachinery and motive power applied thereto for the purpose; whereby thelabor and fatigue incident to stepping up and down the usual stairs ofsuch buildings is avoided, as persons will be conveyed by this appa'ratus from any one floor or landing to the next, or, successively, fromany one floor or landing to any other floor or landing of the saidbuilding, as may be desired, by't-heir simply stepping on and off theplatforms of the frame or frames, as the same reach the said floors orlandings in the operation of the machine. The annexed drawings representa pair of these frames pulley, 2', so as to admit of the frames being 7moved up and down longitudinally and parallel with each other, in theopening (B, B), the extent of one story. The lower end of each frame hasa screw, 70, fixed ermanently in the center of the lowest plat orm 9) soas to project perpendicularly downward therefrom somewhat more than thelength of a story, which screws pass through screwed collar-wheels, Z-l,which are supported strongly by any suitable beam, n, and rotated bymeans of another wheel, m, gearing therewith and rotated or driven byany suitable machinery and power for the purpose.

The platforms (19-19) of the frames (A A) are fixed to the uprights ofthe frames, respectively, at equal distances apart so as to correspondwith the levels of the respective floors of the buildingsupposing thesaid floors to be also at equal distances apart from each other; but asthere is generally a difference in the relative heights of the storiesor floors of the same building, the necessary uniformity in the heightsto correspond with the platforms (pp), is produced by the addition ofthe supplementary landings (E, E), which are made of such heights,respectively, as to produce the uniformity required to make all theplatforms of the frames (A, A)

reach their respective floors, or landings of the building, at the sametime. This result may also be effected by making the platforms, for thesmaller stories, loose on the frames (A A) so as to allow their saidframes to slide on them the extent of the excess of motion which theframes are required to have to bring the respective plat 0 0 beingsimilar brackets fixed to the floor 1 power, the two collar-wheels arerotated uprights of the frame (A'), at such a distance below thebrackets (00) as will allow the frame (A) to have the required excess ofmotion upward, before it lifts the said platform The two spaces (B, B,)are separated by a thin partition g, which may be either close, as seenin the drawing, or open so as to afford communication from the platformsof one frame (A) to those of the other (A), as may be desired.

The safety guards D, D, D, D, are panels, fixed to the front sides ofthe frames (A A), which slide up and down there with so as to close theentrance openings from the stories, after the frames have i started;and, when made to close by means of the descending motionof the frames(A A), they may each be hinged so as to turn inward and upward, to openan entranceway to its particular platform of the frame,

as the latter rises, and to turn downward and outward to a verticalposition so as to slide with the frame and close the said opening, asthe said platform sinksby means of the stops 1', and s, fixed on thecasing, and a lever 25, which turns on a pivot in the casing, and whosebent inner end works in a slot in the edge of the guard (D) as seen inFigs. 1 and 2-the outer end, of the said lever, coming in contact,

' alternately, with the stops (1- and s), as the frame falls and rises;thus, automatically operating the said guard.

In cases where the building admits of an outward movement of the safetyguards, the

'same may be automatically opened and To guard against a persons beinginjured? should he, by leaning over, be brought in contact with the edgeof the floor of the building on the open side of the/apparatus, as theframe A or A is carrying him upward, the flaps (F F,) (see Figs. 2 and4:) are arranged, in the recess left between the frames and the floors,to turn on hinges or pivots in such a manner as to yield easily to anyslight,upward pressure and, afterward, to fall into place again bygravitationbeing ,supported thus by the brackets w thereon.

'Operation: Rotary motion being given to the wheel (m), by means ofanysuitable machinery operated by a competent motive thereby and,consequently, the two screws (70, is) being fixed to their respectiveframes (A, A), the latter are caused to movethe one upward, the otherdownwardwithin the spaces (B, B,) until, by an automatic shifting of adriving-pulley'of the operating machinery, the motions of the saidframes ceaseand this cessation ofthe motions of the frames is generallyarranged to take place when the platform of the first floor, reaches toa level with the second floor. After a few seconds, a second shifting ofthe saiddriving pulley takes place, and a reverse motion of the wheel isproduced, and consequently the frames (A A) arebrought to their originalpositions, and, after a'few seconds, the'same operation is repeated; andso on, continually, the frames are intended to be moved up and down adistance equal to the space of one story only; and the platforms (p;0)being originally arranged tocorrespond with the different floors (0), bybeing either fixed to, or made adjustable on, the framesor, tocorrespond with the supplementary platforms or landings E) of thebuilding, as described, it is manifest that a person standing uponanyone of the said platforms (12-10) of the frames (A A),

will be raised or lowered therewith, one

story; and all that the said person would have to do, to either ascendor descend from one story to another through the Whole height of theseveral stories of the build- -ing,would be tostep on and off thedifierent platforms (pp) from or to the difierent floors, or landings,in succession, as the former reach them; and, as the said platforms (p,p) are so moved up and down in the spaces (B, B), the openings left infront of them become immediately afterward closed sufiiciently, by theintervention of the safety guards, as described. Q

In the operation of the pair of frames (A and A) as described, it isevident that when different persons are being conveyed up and downthereby, at the same time, the weight on one frame will tend tocounterpoise the weight on the other, and so relieve the pressure on thescrews (70, 7c) and that greater expedition will be attained by the useof two frames, than where only a single frame is applied to a building.A pair of frames (A and A) operating together as described, wouldtherefore be preferable in most instances; but nevertheless, a singleframe will answer the purpose of conveying persons from one story to thenext, or any other story, of'a building, precisely in the samemannerwith the exception that the person wishing to ascend or descendthereby, would have to 'wait the return motion of the frame which he hasjust left, before he could be conveyed farther thereby in the samedirection. V

respective platforms (72-10) of the said frame or frames may operate incombination With the several respective floors or landings of abuilding, substantially as described, and for the purpose of conveyingpersons from any one floor to its next, or successively to any otherfloors, of the said building, substantially in the manner set forth anddescribed.

ISAAC H. HOBBS.

Vitnesses BENJ. MoRIsoN,

M. O. B. KENNEY.

